Pickup trucks often have tool boxes mounted in the truck bed for carrying a variety of different types of tools, equipment, and other loose items. Among other purposes, the tool boxes are intended to organize and restrain these items that would otherwise be loose in the truck's bed. In the event that the contained items are to be frequently used, their removal and return to the tool box must be convenient. This will often be the case when tools of the owner's trade are stored in the tool box.
One type of tool box that is normally located within the bed of a pickup truck is the crossover tool box. The crossover tool box is appropriately named because it is normally oriented across the bed of the pick-up truck; that is, the body of the tool box crosses over the bed from one side to the other. In most common embodiments of the crossover tool box it is intended that the box be positioned directly behind the rear window of the passenger cab. The crossover tool box normally has one or more lids hinged transversely to the longitudinal length of the box. In the instance of a single box lid, its length will extend across the truck bed and be hinged at one end adjacent to the side of the bed. In this configuration, the entire lid must be raised to access the interior of the box. If a pair of lids are employed, each is normally hinged in a back-to-back fashion, one to the other at the middle of the box. In this configuration, the lid has a length that is equal to one-half, or less of the width of the truck bed and permits the user to lift the lids independently from the sides of the truck.
One problem associated with truck tool boxes is gaining access to a specific item within the tool box without having to remove other various and sundry items that may be either on top of the desired item or obscuring it from view. One attempt at resolving this problem is the provision of sliding drawers that are used to compartmentalize the interior of the tool box; examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,789,195, and 4,844,305. Many conventional truck tool boxes, however, are non-compartmentalized, and access to specific items contained therein may not easily be made without remove various and sundry other items in order to obtain access to the desired item.